First maybe an intro to my baby:
It's an 80's Specialized Crossroads that I bought used a couple years ago from a man in Burlington. As a hybrid bike it seemed ideal for commuting, and dealing with some less-than ideal terrain (whether the rail trail or some of the roads... I'm looking at you, Stinson!). I've only done a little bit of minor maintenance, but over the next couple months I hope to bring it up into a nice, sleek and shiny ride.
So my first commute of the season was Thursday (the sixteenth). I was excited to pick up my bike from the kind folks at New Hope Bikes, replete with new fenders, some slightly more buff tires, and a general tune up of my gears. I set off for work on James St N, about 6km from my house, and it was a great (though chilly) ride through a gorgeous light snowfall. After work I biked home, and about 3 blocks from home a car accidentally soaked me in salty slush... mouth, eyes and all. It was a bit of a downer, but so it goes. The next morning I made my ride to McMaster University on the other side of the city, which is a journey of about 10km each way. Again, aside from the chill (mostly on my fingers... still working on that) it was a pleasant ride, except for the difficulty on navigating a route through downtown. The East End and Westdale were navigable enough, but downtown was a bit of a maze of jumping from street to street, and occasionally missing a sign and taking a rougher road than I would have liked. Ultimately I made it there in one piece, rented a locker, and settled in. Still some kinks to work out for routes but otherwise a good ride (30-40 min depending on road/weather conditions).
After taking a break on the weekend to rest my legs and recover from the saddle, I returned to school this morning. Sadly, my tail light broke off in the cold, and my hands were pretty rough by the time I made it to Mac, but the worst was on my way home, about to cross James St at York, when my chain popped off and I smashed my knee on the cross-bar... I rode the last 6k home, but decided to stay in to ice it and let it get back to the size it should be. I've had some trouble with my chain, and may go in for some more maintenance. It might be the cold, or perhaps not enough/too much grease (I usually take pretty good care of my chain but I'm not perfect), but either way it needs to get looked at to fix up the breaks as well. Hopefully the help at New Hope can enhance my repair knowledge a bit :)
Oh! Also, I've found the twitter community to be super friendly and supportive :) I was hoping for/expecting some support from friends and family, and am very grateful for it, but the #HamOnt community has been very supportive :) I'm lucky to live in a city that is so full of people trying to make it a better, more sustainable place that we can be proud to hand down to our children. This city has a lot of inner beauty, it just has trouble letting it shine through sometimes...
Well that's it for now, just doing homework and licking my wounds, looking forward to the point where I can bend my knee and get back to those euphoric rides across the city.
Stay safe!
~Ken
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